


heaven (couldn’t be better than this)

by halfwayinit



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Couldnt help myself, Fluff, M/M, but anyways, probably ooc soft, this is soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23913382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfwayinit/pseuds/halfwayinit
Summary: based off the prompt “can we stay like this forever?”
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Comments: 14
Kudos: 81





	heaven (couldn’t be better than this)

**Author's Note:**

> this started out being a short prompt and then it ran away with me a bit so i decided to post it on its own
> 
> i hope you like it!

The city’s still blanketed in a dark veil when Ben stirs awake, the only sight visible through the slit in the curtains a black sky littered with stars. It’s beautiful, makes Ben sit upright in the bed, rest his back against the pillows and properly look, something he hasn’t done since he was a little kid. 

There’s something so fascinating about the sky, he thinks maybe it’s the thought that no matter where you are, you’re looking at the same sun, moon and stars as everyone else. You can’t escape it, you can run from almost anything else, love, feelings, things you want to forget, but you can’t run from the sky. It’s always there when you look up, a silent reminder that we’re not as alone as we might think, that somewhere out there, there’s another person looking up at it too, feeling everything you’re feeling.

He wonders if Callum is looking at it right now too, if he’s awake with a stomach full of butterflies like Ben is. They weren’t going to do the whole staying-apart-the-night-before thing but they’d been convinced by Kathy, Ben’s mum insisting that they’d had their share of bad luck already, and so here they are. Sleeping in different beds in the same Square.

Ben can’t help himself, grabs his phone and ignores the 3:37am glaring back at him as he types out a quick message to Callum. He drops his phone down into the duvet once it delivers, not even sure if he’ll get a reply before the morning. 

Ben: [ _ you up lover boy? can’t sleep without you x _ ] 3:37am

It doesn’t take long for a reply to come through, the buzz of his phone pulling Ben away from where he’d been staring out the window again, thinking about the morning and what it was going to bring. 

Callum: [ _ can’t sleep without you either, wish we didn’t agree to it now, gonna look awful in all the photos x _ ] 3:38am

It makes Ben huff out a quiet laugh, not wanting to wake anyone else in the house. They’d decided Callum would stay in their flat on his own and have Stuart over in the morning, and Ben would stay in the Beale’s, knowing it would break Kathy’s heart not to have her son with her the night before his wedding. As much as Ben loves his mum, he regrets not telling her no when he had the chance. His old bed no longer feels like it belongs to him, it’s not the same without Callum beside him, smacking him in the face some nights when he can’t tell if Ben is still there. 

Ben let’s the duvet pool around his waist as he starts typing back, the butterflies in his stomach becoming more and more alive, making him feel like a giddy teenager talking to his crush for the first time. He bites down on his lip, finger hovering over the send button, then thinks fuck it, if he can’t be a bit risque with the man he’s about to devote his life to then what’s the point? He hits send, an excited feeling spreading throughout his body, making his fingertips tingle with want.

Ben: [ _ fancy breaking the rules one more time before we become honest men? X _ ] 3:39am

Callum’s reply comes in almost immediately, it’s short and to the point, sends a thrill up Ben’s spine in the way that only Callum can. 

Callum: [ _ come over x _ ] 3:39am

Ben doesn’t need to be told twice, he’s out of bed in a second, pulling on a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a hoodie, slipping his feet into a pair of trainers for the short walk across the square. He tiptoes past his mum’s room and down the stairs, knowing by now which steps to avoid, years of sneaking out finally paying off. 

He’s at their bedroom door in minutes, thanking his past self for bringing the house key with him. Callum’s standing looking out the window, eyes locked onto the night sky. So, Ben was right then. Maybe it’s a sign, the universe proving to him that they’re destined for the same horizon. Callum’s his north star, that unwavering presence that always guides him back to right where he’s meant to be.

And right now, that place is here. With the man he’s going to marry in the morning.

It makes goosebumps break out over his body, body aching with how much love it has stored away for this man in front of him. For Callum and Callum only. 

When Callum’s head turns to look at him, the smile that covers his face almost knocks Ben to his knees. God, he’s beautiful. He’s beautiful and he’s going to be Ben’s  _ husband _ . 

Ben and Callum. Callum and Ben. 

Beautiful, burning, eternal. 

Callum isn’t expecting it when Ben rushes towards him, back hitting the wall as their mouths fit seamlessly together the way they always do. His hands go to Ben’s hair, fingers running through the short hair there, relishing in the way it makes Ben keen into him, hips aligning when he goes up on his tiptoes.

Callum guides him towards their bed, pulling Ben down with him and into his lap, no longer worrying about bad luck or superstitions. This is worth it, being with Ben always is. 

\--

Laying in the afterglow, Ben can’t tear himself away from Callum, needing to be touching, to feel that closeness that he craves all the time. Callum smiles when he links their fingers together, shifts in the bed until they’re laying facing each other properly. He presses a soft kiss to their joined hands, let’s them fall into the space between them after. 

“Can we stay like this forever?” Callum’s voice is low, warm breath hitting Ben’s cheek. It’s still surreal to Ben, even after all this time, that they have this. Something so good that you never want it to end. Good enough to want it to last  _ forever _ .

The idea of a forever with Callum, it’s heaven. 

“I can’t wait to marry you.” Ben whispers, eyes wet when they meet Callum’s in the dark. 

If the way Callum kisses him is an answer, Ben thinks it’s a  _ me too _ .

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!  
> come find me on tumblr @halfwayinit and let me know what you thought 🤍


End file.
